One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.

-Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine-

"It's the festival of the night before gold hunting!" Usopp drunkenly cheered as the wolves and mostly everyone else danced around the large fire that had been built.

"This is fantastic—you guys really make this stuff?" Nami asked in surprise upon taking a sip of the drink in her hand as Luffy and a few wolves started to howl together in utter excitement. "That's great! More please!" she laughed, holding up her cup, Mindlessly humming, I listened to the cheerful sounds of everyone around me—both human and animal alike—while comfortably seated between Zoro's legs. Currently, the swordsman behind me was busy chugging as much alcohol as he could, only occasionally stopping to clink glasses with the wolf next to him every once in a while.

"Tomorrow the treasure is ours!" Luffy loudly cheered.

"Treasure!" Chopper echoed.

"Tomorrow!" Sanji laughed as I softly huffed a laugh of my own at the sight of their drunken cheer. Smiling, I quietly watched as the others drank and danced alongside the animals that normally would have feasted on their flesh in any other situation.

"Eh?" I owlishly blinked when I was suddenly yanked back. Before I could look back or say anything, a shiver racked down my spine at the sudden sensation of teeth gently tugging at my earlobe which was then followed by hot breath being blown into my ear. I silently waited a moment or two to see if he would say anything, yet no words came despite the warm breath he breathed indicating that he may have had something to say. "Already drunk I see" I embarrassingly chuckled despite knowing he wasn't—I knew he could hold his alcohol well after being on a ship with him for this long.

"Maybe" he snorted as he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face into the back of my head, sucking in a deep breath of air through his nose as he did so. "You smell nice..." he tiredly mumbled as he nuzzled closer. I wasn't exactly sure what had him so affectionate at this exact moment other than the possibility that he was starting to catch a nice buzz from all this drinking...

Not like I'm complaining though.

"And you smell like sweat and alcohol" I snorted, ignoring the warmth of my cheeks as I leaned back against him. "So much for not being a lightweight, who knew you could be so affectionate" I playfully teased, giggling at the hum I got in return.

"Don't act like you don't like the attention..." I heard him softly mumble, causing my blush to slowly darken and spread at suddenly being called out on my enjoyment of the attention. There was something nice about the deep rumble of his chest as he chuckled while I crossed my arms and pouted, unable to really think of a defense or comeback.

"I'm surprised that you're getting along so well with the Cloud Wolves, I know of no one else who can have such ruckus activates on Eneru's land" Gan Fall's voice suddenly pierced through the air as he awoke from where we had him resting.

"It's good to see that you're awake, are you feeling any better?" Robin asked as he stood and approached us.

"I apologize for being such a burden to you all" Gan Fall apologized.

"You don't need to apologize" I dismissively waved.

"She's right, you're being too hard on yourself, old man" Zoro nodded in agreement. "You saved Chopper and you kept our ship from being blown up to pieces" he reminded the old man, listing off the reasons why his apology wasn't necessary.

"That's my duty" Gan Fall argued, not really seeing such feats as anything worth excusing the trouble he felt that he had caused us.

"There's plenty of stew left, would you like some?" Robin offered, already looking ready to stand and retrieve the older man some food.

"Thank you, no—not right now" Gan Fall shook his head.

"Hey, thanks for everything, Sky Knight guy! Let's dance!" Luffy cheered the minute he spotted that the old man was up and about.

"Come on! Dance with us, Gan Fall!" Chopper happily laughed.

"Chopper, you've been drinking?" Zoro questioned when he noticed a slight slur in the reindeer's speech.

"Like you're one to talk..." I muttered before snorting as I watched how one of the wolves tumbled right over on top of Luffy which then caused Sanji to tumble right over on top of one of the wolves closest to him.

"Hey, old man, I've got a question" Sanji suddenly piped up as lifted his head from where he had fallen. "Conis, is she okay?" he asked.

"Very much so, I sheltered her and her father at my house—they're fine" Gan Fall assured us.

"Great! I was worried she'd never see me again" Sanji lovingly smiled before grunting as another wolf and Usopp suddenly fell on top of him.

"I'm so happy that both are safe, now let's celebrate by tossing Chopper!" Usopp laughed.

"Why me?" Chopper asked before bursting out into a fit of laughter as he was suddenly grabbed and tossed up into the air. It seems that the further the night progressed, the drunker everyone became as they continued to toss the reindeer around and dance the night away. There was something nice and contagious about the air around us as it became cheerful and rowdy the longer everyone partied.

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping" Gan Fall suddenly apologized as he turned his attention toward Robin. "But I heard your conversation about how this island was known long ago by the name Jaya" he mentioned.

"Yeah, that's right" Robin nodded.

"But I believe that you have yet to hear the story of how this island in which we sit came to be known as such a holy land" Gan Fall said. "The ground of the Upper Yard must remind you Blue Sea people of your home far below it—it is similar, right?" he asked.

"It is" Zoro hummed as he snuggled closer and rested his chin on top of my head, clearly getting comfortable as he gave my midsection a tight squeeze.

"In a way, it feels like we're back down on the ground instead of up here in the clouds" I admitted, slumping back against the swordsman as I tried to get comfortable as well.

"Yes, you're lucky—what you see all around us and beneath our feet is something that does not naturally exist in the sky" Gan Fall nodded. "Island Clouds can support plant life, but it cannot generate its own. Greenery and soil are but both foreign things to our light up here" he explained as he grabbed a handful of dirt before letting it fall from his fingers. "Our people have our own name for this, its Vearth, those living among the clouds hold this sacred—it's what they all desire."

-Later-

"Aw! Come on, Zoro—be a pal!" Usopp pleaded.

"Forget it, I'm not going with you..." Zoro grumbled as he shifted around, one arm lazily thrown around my waist as I laid beside him—eyes wide open as I patiently waited for the two to silence themselves. "If you're scared, just hold it 'til morning, you big baby" he huffed in slight annoyance.

"I would if I could, believe me!" Usopp whined.

"Just go take a leak by yourself" Zoro grunted as he motioned for the sharpshooter to leave him alone so that he could get some rest.

"Could you both maybe shut up? Some people are trying to sleep here" I tiredly huffed, lower lip now jutting out into a pout. It was late and all I wanted to do was just go to sleep—the possibility of having to walk through a forest while sleep-deprived come morning didn't exactly sound thrilling.

"That's cold, Zoro..." Usopp muttered, quieting his voice just a little as if that was his solution to my complaint. "That's really cold" and with that, he left, finally walking away so that he could go and find somewhere private to piss.

"I'm starting to wonder why I didn't just take up Nami's offer to sleep in the tent with her and Robin..." I quietly grumbled once I was sure it was just me and Zoro once again.

"Because you like being this close to me" he playfully teased.

"Or perhaps it could be to make sure you don't go wandering off and go getting yourself lost in your sleep" I shot back, quietly giggling at the harsh flick I received to my temple as the swordsman huff.

"Just shut up and go to sleep..." he grumbled. It didn't take long after that for him to fall asleep the minute his eyes closed nor did it really take me that long to do the same once my eyes had finally fluttered shut.

-Dream-

"Filthy brat—how dare you try to steal from me! I should cut your hands off for such thievery!" the owner of the stand snarled, his voice quick in catching the attention of the other villagers as they curiously looked toward the commotion. Each of them now eyeing the curled-up thirteen-year-old at his feet. Her dirty hands protectively covering the back of her head as she tried to make herself appear small, not daring to look up at the man that continued to shout at her.

"I was hungry..." was her quiet response—her voice muffled due to her head being buried between her own knees—before suddenly she whimpered when she felt the sting of the man's boot coming down onto her back.

"Hungry?!" the man sneered. "Hungry is no excuse for thievery—even an orphan such as yourself should know that! I have to make a living too so my family and I don't end up like filthy street rats like you and your worthless brothers!" the brunette didn't know what to say, opting to instead stay silent as she kept her gaze on the bruised-up flesh of her thighs. Cloud was right, she needed to get better at being stealthy if she wanted to help in bringing back food for them. Loudly did she cry out the minute a handful of her hair was harshly grabbed and she was yanked up into a kneeling position, now forced to look the stand owner in the eyes. That was when the whispers started as the people who were gathered in a circle around the two began to talk the longer they watched the scene—the longer they looked at her appearance.

A busted lip and swollen cheek is the sight that greeted them all the second her head was lifted, there was no beauty in her face as people stared. A girl her age should not do such barbaric things as stealing and roughhousing with the other children on the island. But she did, and for that, she always had a rougher look to herself compared to the normal softer look that most of the women on the island adorned. Her brothers and her were outsiders, washed up on shore half-starved and looking for comfort in a place that wouldn't give it to them. No one's eyes showed any pity for her as they all continued to look at the dispute as if it was a mere spectacle.

They were people who cared for their way of living more than for the living of others. For that, children like her and her brothers weren't showered with pity or sympathy, they were instead thrown into a hostile environment. Children that were not afraid to track them down and pick fights and adults that didn't hesitate to inflict damage upon them when they did something wrong. Skylar knew this, she knew it after the first fight that had broken out between her older brother and one of the villagers. She knew the man had started it—she knew it had been the man's fault as his comment had been what triggered the blond to react in such a violent way...

And yet, that wasn't how the other villagers saw it.

"Are you just going to sit there and be quiet or are you going to apologize, you sneaky little bitch?!" the stand owner angrily yelled as he violently tossed the young girl away from him like she was filth, watching with venomous eyes as she rolled across the ground like nothing more than a ragged doll. People moved and children snickered as she came tumbling by before finally she came to a stop on her back and now stared up at the sky. "You disgrace of a human being!" the words came tumbling out of the man's mouth in a vicious rage as he advanced once more toward her. It was clear that he had to have been angry about something else—something other than the theft of one apple. Especially one as bruised up and destined to be tossed away as the one he had caught her snatching from his stand...

She's heard whispers of rumors about marital problems involving this particular stand owner and wondered if something had happened at home to be responsible for his sudden and intense rage.

Instead of getting a blank stare as a response this time, something seemed to just stir inside of the young girl. Her eyes slowly widening as her heart quickened and painfully started to thunder away from within her chest...

Those words.

How painful it was to hear those words once again and how they brought back such unpleasant memories—memories that she wished to just forget. Like a caged animal did her body react, shooting straight up as she started to now crawl back and away from the advancing man. Wild eyes now trained on him and only him...but in front of her she did not see the stand clerk, instead, she saw a familiar and sharply dressed man. She saw a man dressed in formal clothing that indicated a higher status—she saw a man with slicked-back brown hair and cold eyes that were the same color of ice like hers. She saw a man who wore a ferocious expression on his face as drool and spit spewed from his mouth the more he hatefully sneered at her.

"What an embarrassment you are!" he seemed to just snarl as she began backing away, pitiful whimpers leaving her lips as it became quite clear to those around her that she wanted nothing more than to just turn tail and run. It wasn't until her back hit the legs of another villager who stared down at her with utter disgust yet didn't move did she become frantic. It wasn't until the sharply dressed man began to come closer to her did she start to panic until finally, like that same caged animal that wanted nothing more than to run...

Her behavior switched.

She switched from a scared, docile little animal wanting to do nothing more than hide from its pursuers to a feral animal with adrenaline pumping through its veins that only knew how to fearfully snap and growl at those that threatened it. Her jaw opened as she viciously bit down at the stand owner's hand the second it reached for her. Painfully did her teeth sink into his flesh and held on tight as he howled in pain and quickly tried to pull away. She did not relent even as her body was jerked around while the man tried to shake her off—she held tight, refusing to let go as her jaw only clamped down harder. It wasn't until a metallic taste hit her tongue did she finally drawback, spitting out the red substance that she had drawn from the man before quickly bolting off through the crowd and scampering away back home to the small shack she and her brothers called home.

Ignoring the cursing stand owner and the frightened crowd as they all watched her scamper off like a scared little rabbit.

-End of Dream-

I jolted awake to the sound of a scream, one that was high-pitched and girlish sounding. From beside me, Zoro bolted upright at the sound, far quicker to react to the sudden cry than me as I sluggishly stood. Left in a daze, I tiredly followed behind him with the dragging of my feet...

Dreams were weird.

Sometimes you found yourself trapped within a fantasy that fills you with warmth and happiness to the point that you never want to wake up...and other times, you found yourself walking down memory lane and left with feelings that you just can't quite explain...

When we finally reached the source of the scream, Zoro's arm quickly shot out and stopped me from going any further. I didn't question it, only peeking over his shoulder and down at the twitching sharpshooter sprawled out on the ground.

"What's your problem, moron?" Zoro frowned. "Did you fall asleep mid-piss? That's pathetic" he scoffed.

"Usopp, you alright there, buddy? You look like you've just seen a ghost" I yawned while attempting to rub the sleep from my eyes...yet, deep down I knew no matter what I did, I'd never rid myself of this tiredness that always seemed to follow me.

"I-I saw a—" he couldn't finish, his teeth chattering far too much to let him speak.

"Hey, Usopp, snap out of it!" Zoro irritably snapped.

"I saw a ghost!" he finally wailed. "Ghost! A ghost!" he seemed to just cry.

"I wasn't being serious about that, you know?" I tiredly mumbled as I leaned against Zoro's back, resting my chin on his shoulder as I stared down at the quivering sharpshooter. My legs felt like lead and my heart was practically pounding a mile per minute in my ears as if my body was just eager to dive right back down memory lane instead of just standing here...

I'm not really sure when we made it back to camp—perhaps Zoro had dragged me or my feet had mindlessly followed behind him and Usopp—but it wasn't really that long before I found myself faced down in the dirt once more. Already drifting off back to dreamland without a second thought.

-The Next Morning-

"Ah! It's true—so I wasn't dreaming! It was here last night!" once more did I find myself jolting awake to the sound of Usopp's screams along with everyone else as they finally started to wake up, each of them grumbling as they got up and stretched out their bodies in an attempt to wake themselves up further. I stayed lying down, eyes still feeling heavy as my chest held a tightening feeling that almost had me calling for Chopper just to make sure I wasn't suffering from a heart attack.

"Skylar, get up—we need to go see what Usopp's going on about" Nami said as she now stood right over me, resting her hands on her hips while raising a questioning brow when all I did was groan in response. Sluggishly did I throw my arms upwards and held them out as if silently asking for her help, which she thankfully gave. My knees stiffly bent and my body lurched forward the minute she pulled me up with all her strength before huffing when she finally had me standing on my own two feet. "You doing okay? You look like death" she worriedly noted.

"Thanks" that's all I could say, tiredly walking past her and in the direction of the ship.

"The Going Merry—she's been repaired!" we stared in shock, not knowing what else to say as we stared at the miracle that was before us.

"I knew it! See, guys—I told you I wasn't insane!" Usopp cried.

"I don't believe it, the mast is fixed!" Nami gaped in surprise as she stared up at the fixed mast. "Hey, now that's service" she grinned, causing Robin to chuckle as a small smile tugged at my lips.

"You can say that again" Robin agreed. "Can you imagine what a chore it was just to stand something this heavy upright?" she asked, clearly impressed with whoever had fixed the ship

"Well, I hate to say it, but they did a lousy job" Sanji grunted.

"I think it's perfectly fine for being done in the middle of the night" I disagreed as I looked at all the repairs that had been done. "With how damaged she was before, they clearly did a decent job in patching her up to the best of their abilities" I softly smiled...she wasn't perfect, but she looked a lot better now compared to yesterday.

"Whoever did this sure is nice" Luffy smiled.

"There was somebody here, I know I saw him..." Usopp muttered to himself as he walked around the ship and began to examine the work that had been done.

"But who'd risk crossing a river full of Sky Sharks to come all the way here and fix our ship?" Zoro asked. "I mean, as far as we can tell, the only people here in Upper Yard are us and our enemies" he pointed out.

"Perhaps Usopp's right and it was a ghost" I suggested, recalling what Usopp had been screaming about last night.

"Don't start with that" Zoro softly frowned, clearly not in the mood to be reminded of the little episode that had taken place in the middle of the night.

"Hey, did you notice that they took all the flying gear off of the ship?" Luffy suddenly pointed out. "That's weird."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it and it's got me wondering" Usopp nodded. "Huh, it just really doesn't make any sense to me—how could this phantom repairman know what the Merry's supposed to look like? How did he know that she didn't have a comb or wings or a tail?" he questioned.

"What did you see, Usopp? Who was it?" Chopper curiously asked as he swung from one of the low-hanging ropes.

"I still say he was partying too hard and was having a nightmare" Zoro said before grunting as the reindeer suddenly came swinging toward him and smashing right into his face.

"Nice job there, Chopper!" I laughed.

"Why are you two goofing off?" Nami asked. "There's a lot of work to do or did you forget?" she frowned.

"But, Nami, aren't you even a little bit curious?" Chopper asked.

"About what?" Nami asked as she looked toward the reindeer carefully climbing off of Zoro.

A/N: Enjoy

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